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A new client based in the Oklahoma City area recently contacted us to do a thermal roof scan for a commercial project. We always enjoy the opportunity to travel beyond the Dallas/Fort Worth area for projects.

Any time we travel that far, the planning process is even more critical; we monitored forecast weather conditions and chose the optimal day for the project.

Performing the Thermal Roof Scan

Thankfully, this was a fairly straightforward thermal roof scan; there were no airspace concerns, and the conditions were just right, which can be somewhat tricky during the winter (more on that shortly).

We arrived on site and met with our main point of contact from the roofing company along with another contractor who is a part of the project. We rarely interface with our clients directly while on site, so we enjoy the chance to educate them on the ins and outs of the inspection process first hand.

The inspection was simple enough, with the roof measuring just under 20,000 square feet. During our initial scan of the roof, we noticed a fair amount of possible moisture ingress all throughout the roof, so we decided to make a couple of runs over the roof, capturing thermograms at varying altitudes for use later.

The client enjoyed getting to see what we see on our feed during the inspection. We demonstrated the process with different color palettes, and we used it as an opportunity to educate the client on the specifics of how thermography works for flat roofing applications.

The scan itself only took about half an hour. Then, we packed up and returned home and finished the report generation part of the process.

Thermal Roof Scans During the Winter

Infrared roof scans are generally performed during the warmer months. During the summertime, the intense solar loading on the roof can make it easier to identify thermal anomalies indicative of moisture ingress. However, it’s still perfectly viable to do these inspections during the colder months as long as the proper planning considerations are adhered to.

Here are a few key variables that made it possible to get good results from the scan.

Bright Sunny Day

Bright, sunny conditions on the day of the inspection are required for accurate inspections.

Minimal Wind

15 miles per hour is generally the acceptable threshold for an accurate thermal roof inspection. An accurate scan is still possible beyond this, but 15 is the general cutoff/industry standard. The reason for this is due to the cooling effect wind has on the surface of the roof; strong wind can cool down what would otherwise be detected as “hot spots,” skewing the results of the scan.

During this inspection, the wind speed was only 5 miles per hour — one of the lower speeds we have encountered on recent inspections.

Higher Indoor Temperature

One of the variables at play that’s unique to these inspections during the winter is the high temperature difference between the inside and outside of the building. During this inspection, the outside temperature was in the high 30s. We didn’t access the inside of the building, but it’s reasonable to conclude that it was approximately 70 degrees.

The higher indoor temperature will help keep any moisture-logged roof insulation warmer than the surrounding roof, especially given the previously mentioned variables that were at play to ensure an accurate scan.

There’s no denying that the overall solar loading on a roof during the winter isn’t nearly as intense as it is during the summer, so this indoor-outdoor temperature difference helps compensate.

In Closing

Ultimately, we delivered a solid product to the client that can help optimize roof repair efforts. What’s more, our efficient scan means less time contractors would otherwise have to spend out in the cold performing a conventional moisture scan.

Read more: How to Interpret Thermal Images [Flat Roof Inspection Application]